The Maple Blues Awards

THE 19TH ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

Event Details. The 19th Annual Maple Blues Awards will be held at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall on Monday, January 18th, 2016 at 7:00pm in Toronto.

Winners of the 19th Annual Maple Blues Awards will be announced at the annual Maple Blues Awards Gala on Monday, January 18th, 2016. This very special evening is Canada’s national annual celebration of homegrown blues talent.

Each year, attendees of the Maple Blues Awards Gala enjoy performances from a selection of current nominees, accompanied by the always popular Maple Blues Band.

ABOUT THE MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

The Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.

The awards program is proudly organized by the Toronto Blues Society.

Steering Committee. The nominees are selected by a distinguished panel of approximately 50 blues experts who form the MBA Nominating Panel. Co-Chaired by the steering committee consisting of Terry Parsons, Yves Trottier, John Valenteyn and Brant Zwicker, the panel includes radio hosts, journalists, and festival organizers regionally distributed across Canada. Members of the Nominating Panel are not eligible for any of the awards.

Instrumental Categories. Winners in all categories, except the instrumental categories, will be selected by blues fans across Canada. Winners in the guitar, harmonica, piano/keyboards, horn, drum, and bass categories will be determined by the Nominating Panel.

APPLICATION PROCESS

There is no “application” for the Maple Blues Awards. Nominations are drawn from the expertise of the nominating panel suggestions. Members of the nominating panel are required to be familiar with Canadian blues artist activity and CD releases. Artists are encouraged to service CDs to all blues radio djs, journalists and industry professional to increase their national profile.

Entertainer Of The Year. Group or artist who showed the most overall success in the previous year. This could include a combination of live performances, touring, airplay, media coverage, and public acceptance.

New Artist Or Group Of The Year. Group or individual, new to the national blues scene, who has made considerable advances artistically and/or commercially during the eligibility period. The nominee should be performing under its/his/her name on a regular basis and must not have been nominated in any Maple Blues Awards category previously. The award recognizes the group or individual.

The Nominating Panel reviews a list of CD releases at the beginning of September which leads to the creation of a ballot published at the beginning of October for public voting.

THE NOMINATING PANEL

The Nominating Panel consists of industry professionals from across Canada who volunteer their time to participate.

NAME

ORGANIZATION | PROGRAM, STATION

CITY, PROVINCE

Brant Zwicker*

At the Crossroads, syndicated

Kamloops, BC

Vince Almond

CFBX

Kamloops, BC

William “Billieboy” Lucas

CHLY

Nanaimo, BC

Earl Krushelnicki

Blues Underground Network

Prince George, BC

Rod Dranfield

White Rock Blues Society

Surrey, BC

Ron Simmonds

CFRO

Vancouver, BC

Paul Norton

CFRO, CiTR

Vancouver, BC

Jim Burnett

Code Blue, CiTR

Vancouver, BC

Brent Morrison

Rockin’ Blues, CJSF

Vancouver, BC

Cindy McLeod

Calgary Blues Music Association

Calgary, AB

Chris Martin

CBC Saturday Night Blues

Edmonton, AB

Grant Stovel

CJSR/CKUA

Edmonton, AB

Peter North

Dead Ends & Detours, CKUA

Edmonton, AB

Gord MacAulay

Canadian Blues Alliance

Saskatoon, SK

Al Wood

Saskatoon Blues Society

Saskatoon,SK

Ronnie Lindsay

Bluesday on Tuesday, CKUW

Winnipeg, MB

Ken Wallis

Blues Blast, The HAWK

Hamilton, ON

Paul Panchezak

Breakfast of Champions, CFMU

Hamilton, ON

James Doran

Choose The Blues Productions

Kenmore, ON

Bruce Hall

Grand River Blues Society

Kitchener, ON

Claude Cloutier

Kitchener Blues Festival

Kitchener, ON

Vince Vitacco

Everyday I Have the Blues, CHRY

North York, ON

Larry Kurtz

Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival

Orangeville, ON

Liz Sykes

Ottawa Blues Society

Ottawa ON

Deborah Cartmer

CFBU

St. Catharines, ON

Stew Laing

Stew’s Blues

Stratford, ON

Phil Hordy

Thunder Bay Blues Society

Thunder Bay, ON

Danny Marks

BLUZ-FM, JAZZ.FM

Toronto, ON

John Valenteyn*

John Valenteyn’s Blues, CIUT

Toronto, ON

Patricia Lever

Midday and Howlin’ Blues (synd), DAWG

Toronto, ON

Eric Thom

Music Writer

Toronto, ON

Julie Hill

Radio Regent

Toronto, ON

Yannick Lambert

Donnacona Blues Festival

Donnacona, QC

Yves Trottier*

DAWG

Gatineau, QC

Debra Thornington

Ottawa Blues Society

Gatineau, QC

John Detcheverry

Cha Cha Cha In Blue, CKUT

Montreal, QC

Jean-Pierre Petit

L’Hôtel Du Blues

Montreal, QC

Daisy Hanna

Montreal Blues Society

Montreal, QC

Randy Renaud

The Black Cat Alley, CHOM

Montreal, QC

Greg Torrington

The Blues, Stingray Music

Montreal, QC

Michel Dubois

CKRL

Quebec City, QC

Louis Brunet

CKMN

Rimouski, QC

Jean Sicotte

Les Productions Kazou

Sutton, QC

Christian Gamache

Trois Rivieres en Blues

Trois Rivieres, QC

Bob Mersereau

CBC Radio One

Fredericton NB

Sandy MacDonald

Freelance Music Writer

Halifax, NS

Terry Parsons*

Blind Lemon Radio, CHMR

St. John’s, NL

Steve Hussey

Fred’s Records

St. John’s, NL

*The panel is lead by a steering committee consisting of John Valenteyn, Brant Zwicker, Terry Parsons and Yves Trottier.